Van Gogh Sunflowers, ages 7 to 12

We looked at some paintings by Van Gogh and talked about his brushwork. The students drew from life, sunflowers in vases, and painted using strong brushwork. I like this project because the students get to think about each color and where it will go. All did a great job!

Food Portraits, ages 9 - 12

We looked at paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593) who used food as face parts in his paintings. Then the students took 16x20 inch mat boards and magazines images to put together faces. This was a fun project with great results.

I also want to say what a wonderful positive group I have. 

They are always supportive of everyones ideas, process and progress.

 Bravo!

Pumpkins! ages 7 to 15

I like to do projects that reflect the time of year and so pumpkins have reappeared in our classroom. The students used 19x25 inch canson paper and oil pastels to draw and paint the pumpkins. I call it drawing when we use lines and painting with the oil pastels when we show value, color and texture. These all have nice rhythm and style.

Halloween Shadow Boxes-ages 8 - 12

I found some diorama boxes this summer and could not wait to see what the students would do using a Halloween theme.
I was not disappointed. So creative!

Contrasting Black Backgrounds, Teen Class

We looked at some paintings from other bloggers and magazines that used black as a background. We noted how a simple subject really takes center stage with the black background.
Some used watercolor, some used colored pencil.

Warm and Cool Color Animal Blocks- ages 8 and 9

The students picked an animal face to draw using contour lines and put it on 18 x 22 inch poster board that I had divided into blocks. They used tempera paints to paint alternating warm and cool colors.